1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an overhanging member to be employed at an overhanging portion of building.
2. Description of the Related Arts
As one of the methods for constructing an overhanging portion of a building, a hanging wall specification is known. FIG. 7 illustrates one example of constructing such an overhanging portion according to the conventional hanging wall specification wherein metal fittings are employed for installing siding boards. In this case, horizontal furring strips 20 are attached to a beam 21 by making use of nails 22, after which siding boards 30 are anchored, through a packing member 25 and a sheet of water-proof paper 26, to the horizontal furring strips 20 by making use of nails 22. The packing member 25 is employed for securing a predetermined distance between the siding board 30 and the vertical fin-ring strip 24 at this overhanging portion, or the distance which can be secured also by a fixture (not shown).
FIG. 8 illustrates another example of constructing the conventional hanging wall specification. In this example, the siding boards are installed by making use of nails according to the conventional construction process. Since metal fittings are not employed in this case, the siding boards 30 are anchored to the horizontal furring strips 20 not through a packing member 25 but only through a sheet of water-proof paper 26.
In FIGS. 7 and 8, the reference numeral 23 denotes an eaves top board, which can be installed before or after the anchoring of the siding boards 30.
According to the aforementioned conventional construction processes, they fail to pay any particular attention to the ventilation and drainage of the overhanging portion, thus allowing condensation water to remain without drainage, thereby possibly resulting in the corrosion of the eaves top board, etc. by the condensation.
Further, the length of the eaves top board 23 to be installed may not necessarily be uniform in every eaves top board 23. Namely, if there is any eaves top board 23 which is shorter than other eaves top boards 23 among the installed eaves top boards 23, a gap would probably be generated between this short eaves top board 23 and the siding board 20, thereby prominently spoiling the external appearance of the over hanging portion. On the contrary, if there is any eaves top board 23 which is longer than other eaves top boards 23 among the installed eaves top boards 23, it would become impossible to install the siding board.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an overhanging member which is capable of overcoming the aforementioned problems that have been accompanied with the overhanging portion of the conventional hanging wall specification, capable of effectively executing the ventilation and drainage of the overhanging portion, and capable of improving the external appearance of the over hanging portion.
Namely, the present invention provides an overhanging member comprising a flat vertical mounting portion; a rear mounting portion that extends from the lower end of the flat vertical mounting portion to the backside; and a trough portion that extends parallel with said rear mounting portion; wherein one side brim of said trough portion is made contiguous with the bottom portion of said rear mounting portion; the other side brim of said trough portion extends to the fore side beyond the front face of said flat vertical mounting portion; and said trough portion is provided at the bottom thereof with at least one hole.
According to a preferable embodiment of the present invention, said trough portion is constituted by an inclined face, which is extended obliquely downward from the bottom portion of said rear mounting portion to a front side of said flat vertical mounting portion; a bottom face horizontally extending from the distal end of said inclined face and provided with at least one hole; and a vertical face extending perpendicularly from the distal end of said bottom face.
In another preferable embodiment of the present invention, said trough portion is constituted by a first vertical face which is extended perpendicularly downward from the bottom portion of said rear mounting portion; a first inclined face which is extended obliquely downward from the lower end of said first vertical face to front side of said flat vertical mounting portion; a second inclined face which is extended obliquely upward from the distal end of said first inclined face; a second vertical face perpendicularly extending from the distal end of said second inclined face; and at least one hole formed along the joint line between said first and second inclined faces.
Since the overhanging member is constructed as described above according to the present invention, when this overhanging member is attached to an overhanging portion of building, any condensation water that has been generated at the overhanging portion is permitted to flow into the trough portion and to fall downward through the holes formed in the trough portion, thereby enabling the condensation water to be effectively drained. Additionally, due to the introduction of air through the holes into the inner side of siding boards, the ventilation can be ensured at this overhanging portion of building.
As described above, according to the conventional construction method of the overhanging portion of building, a gap may be formed between the siding board and the eaves top board due to an insufficient length of some of the eaves top boards. Whereas according to the present invention, since the distal end portions of the eaves top boards are entirely covered by the overhanging member of the present invention, the problem of generating the aforementioned gap can be overcome even if there is some degree of dimensional error in length of the eaves top boards. Further, it becomes possible, through the employment of the overhanging member of the present invention, to secure a substantial degree of freedom in terms of the length of the eaves top boards to be employed. Moreover, since the overhanging member can be installed in such a manner that the fore-end portion of the trough portion, which is extended toward the front side of the flat vertical mounting portion is able to contact the rear side of siding board, all of the structural members including a distal end portion of the eaves top board located behind the overhanging member, the overhanging member and the siding board appear to contact each other as they are viewed from below, thereby greatly improving the external appearance of the overhanging portion of a building.
The procedure for installing the siding boards by making use of the overhanging member of the present invention may be generally such that the eaves top boards are attached in advance to a building frame prior to the installation of the overhanging member and the siding boards. However, depending on circumstances, the overhanging member and the siding boards may be anchored at first to a beam prior to the attachment of the eaves top boards to a building frame. This means that the degree of freedom in the procedure for installing the overhanging member is relatively large.
In another preferable embodiment of the present invention, the overhanging member comprises a flat vertical mounting portion; a step portion extended from the lower end of said flat vertical mounting portion to the front side and forming a flat surface parallel with said flat vertical mounting portion; a rear mounting portion extending from the lower end of said step portion to the backside; and a trough portion extending parallel to said rear mounting portion; wherein one side brim of said trough portion is made contiguous with the bottom portion of said rear mounting portion; the other side brim of said trough portion extends to the fore side beyond said step portion; and said trough portion is provided at the bottom thereof with plurality of holes. According to this embodiment, the installation of the vertical furring strips can be performed in a manner that the lower end of each of the vertical furring strips is placed on the step portion thereby facilitating the positioning of the vertical furring strips.
According to another preferable embodiment of the present invention, the trough portion of the overhanging member is provided at the bottom thereof with at least one groove portion running along the bottom thereof, said groove being provided at the bottom thereof with at least one hole.
According to this embodiment, any condensation water that drops into the trough portion of the overhanging member is permitted to flow along the groove formed along the bottom of the trough portion and to fall downward through the holes formed in the groove, thereby enabling the condensation water to effectively drain outside. Even though the quantity of condensation water generated at the overhanging portion and flowing into the trough portion wouldbe small, the grove thus formed functions as a conduit, thereby turning the condensation water in a flow of water, thus achieving a smooth drainage of water. In particular, if the hole is formed of a narrow slit, water would be kept in a state of thin layer due to the surface tension, thus preventing water from falling down through the slit. However, when a groove is formed as described above, such a phenomenon can be avoided.
In a further preferable embodiment, the trough portion is provided with a couple of grooves running along both side brims of the bottom of the trough portion, and slits extending from the bottom of one of the grooves to the bottom of another groove are formed at predetermined intervals along the entire length of the groove trough portion. In view of the width of the trough portion using the overhanging member of the present invention, the provision of a couple of grooves on both side brims of the bottom of the trough portion as illustrated in this embodiment would be suitable. The overhanging member of the present invention can be formed generally by means of bending work of a steel plate. Therefore, if the trough portion of the overhanging member is constructed so as to provide a couple of grooves on both side brims of the bottom of the trough portion, a sufficient drainage effect can be achieved with a relatively small degree of the bending work. Further, since the holes in the bottom of the trough portion are formed of slits according to this embodiment, the inner side of the holes can be made hardly recognizable as the overhanging portion is viewed from below, thereby improving the external appearance of the overhanging portion.
According to another preferable embodiment, the trough portion of the overhanging member is provided, at the flat vertical mounting portion, with a hole or a groove for nailing. According to this embodiment, the nailing work of the overhanging member to the frame construction of building can be facilitated.
The overhanging member of the present invention can be manufactured from a steel plate. With respect to the manufacturing method and raw material of the steel plate, there is not any particular limitation as long as a predetermined strength can be ensured. Preferably, the overhanging member of the present invention should be manufactured through the bending work of a single steel plate.